Paris to Sarlat

Paris to Bordeaux on the TGV train.
Then Bordeaux to Sarlat on the TER train.

The rail route via Bordeaux is the only one. For information on how to book French trains, see here

Note that there are currently rail strikes in France, see here for a list of dates affected.

We are doing this trip this fall, but travelling Sarlat to Paris. You have a couple of other options besides Bordeaux. There is a train from Gare d'Austerlitz which goes to Brive -la-Gaillarde and continues on to Souillac. You can rent from several different car companies in Brive and drive to Sarlat. Or you can continue on the train to Souillac and take a taxi (18 miles) to Sarlat. Sarlat has only one car rental company - Europe Car.

When I asked our Sarlat B and B owner for recommendations, she strongly advised using the option I listed above as much easier than going through Bordeaux.

The advantage to taking the train to Bordeaux is that with the new high speed TGV line, it's only a 2 hour trip. And all the major car rental companies have offices at the Bordeaux station.

Depending on how much time you have, you may want to rent the car in Bordeaux and work your way down to Sarlat. I'm doing similar starting next week. I'll start in Paris, fly to Toulouse, rent a car and work my way back up to Bordeaux, then train back to Paris for a few nights before heading home.

Rent the car in Bordeaux.